" I would like to live in the same soil as my ancestors, and walk under their trees, and do what they did, and think their thoughts. " - Elizabeth Lawrence. After 4 decades in Sweet Home Chicago I moved to North Carolina where my first Irish ancestor landed in the early 1700's. I'm an artist, garden designer and grandma blogging about my life in this " Southern part of Heaven " as Chapel HIll is called.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

SEPTEMBER IN THE SWEET GARDEN

The weather has been a real mix of dry and wet this September. I love the cool mornings and evenings which give me a chance to get some gardening done before it gets too hot.I helped oversee my daughter's garden installation of five beautiful 'Arapoho ' ( red ) Crape Myrtles lining her driveway. They will look beautiful with her gray house.I planted a new bed in the pile of stones left from an old wall next to our driveway. I had four yards of a custom blended top soil ( gray sand, compost and manure ) delivered and I set about spreading it on various garden beds .To say that I wasn't even sore the next day, at 70 years young, well, I think it's grand .

Last week we had a drenching rain just as I finished adding dianthus to the wildflower garden. What a bargain to get a flat of dianthus at the price of annuals when its really a perennial, especially in this area. I haven't really had to water much this month and caught a lot of the rain in my barrel.

Still contemplating having a deer proof fence in my backyard but until then I continue to spray deer and rabbit repellent after it rains. I watched 8 of them cross my back property line on a recent morning and they just peered at my garden and kept on going. Each time I plant I spray for extra insurance and so far its worked.

It's too early to plant bulbs but I've been collecting daffodils because the deer don't like them.

In my sedum garden in the front I created some stone statues and planted a curly leafed dwarf ligustrum that looks like a living sculpture.

I've had fun creating several different stone statues about the property . This one is near my little water feature.

The one below is placed on an old tree stump. Looks formidable doesn't it ?

It's been a sweet September in the garden and everywhere I see signs of my gardening efforts paying off -blooming wildflowers along the roadside and in the boulder garden the veronica and asters have bloomed.

The star of the summer boulder garden was definitely the huge Elephant Ears that are the envy of all the neighbors.

2 comments:

I entered one comment, and it seems to have disappeared! You have the most labor intensive work, for beautiful gardens, accomplished, for the most part. Changes always happen, but obtaining all those wonderful rocks...! If I know of you at all, I know you're u have been too busy gardening, etc. to blog! Hope we see the results of your endeavors before long! :-)